The board of Hartmarx, the Illinois-based men’s clothier that is in bankruptcy protection, faced a surprise obstacle to its plan to designate a London-based investment firm as its preferred buyer.

The investment firm, Emerisque, would take Hartmarx out of bankruptcy, with the promise of keeping the American company operating.

But officials close to the bankruptcy negotiations said Thursday that executives from Wells Fargo, Hartmarx’s main creditor and the provider of its operating funds while it is in bankruptcy, threatened to cut off future credit, perhaps preventing Hartmarx from making payroll, if its board chose Emerisque.

The threat increased fears that the bank favored liquidation.

Neither Wells Fargo nor the bankruptcy judge overseeing Hartmarx would be under any legal obligation to follow the wishes of the bankrupt company’s board, but Wells Fargo has faced increasing pressure to let the company be sold to a buyer likely to keep it operating rather than liquidate it.

Emerisque had gone public with its bid on Wednesday, which it said was final and would expire on Thursday.

Fearing that Wells Fargo was pushing to liquidate Hartmarx, a 122-year-old company known for its Hart Schaffner Marx and Hickey Freeman men’s wear, 43 members of Congress wrote Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner on Thursday, urging him to press Wells Fargo to help preserve Hartmarx and its more than 3,000 jobs.

The lawmakers wrote that given that taxpayers had provided Wells Fargo with $25 billion in bailout funds, “we find it incomprehensible that it would continue to push for the loss of jobs in a viable company.”

The members of Congress added, “The case of Hartmarx must not become an unfortunate example of financial institutions failing to provide the credit envisioned by Congress to help maintain corporate operations and preserve jobs in this trying economic climate.”

Officials involved in the negotiations, who did not want to be named discussing delicate details, said Emerisque’s bid was worth more than $100 million. Hartmarx owed Wells Fargo and other creditors $114 million when it filed for bankruptcy protection in January.

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Organized labor has risen up against Wells Fargo, hoping that a buyer can keep Hartmarx alive and its workers employed.Credit
M. Spencer Green/Associated Press

Emerisque has developed a reputation for rescuing apparel brands, among them Lee Cooper, Puma and Ben Sherman.

Susan Stanley, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman, said the bank had no comment.

Homi Patel, Hartmarx’s chief executive, was in meetings Thursday and declined to comment. He has made clear that he favors a bidder that will keep the company operating and preserve its jobs.

Last week, Wells Fargo said it favored keeping Hartmarx operating, but indicated it was reluctant to lend more money, considering that Hartmarx had failed to fulfill some of the obligations it made since filing for bankruptcy.

Bruce Raynor, the president of Unite Here, the union that represented Hartmarx’s workers, said it would be unwise for Wells Fargo to favor liquidation over selling to Emerisque.

“The surest route for the bank to recover its money is to make a deal with a well-respected private equity firm that owns and runs several successful brands,” Mr. Raynor said. “Emerisque is not only offering substantial recovery for the bank, but to protect the jobs of workers.”

Emerisque issued a statement late Wednesday saying, “We believe in the potential and future growth of the Hartmarx family of brands, and recognize the value of a ‘Made in America’ label in the United States and in markets around the world.”

Emerisque added that it wanted to acquire “substantially all of the assets” of Hartmarx and run it as a “single going concern.”

Under bankruptcy law, the Hartmarx board is authorized to choose a potential buyer. Wells Fargo and other creditors then have 10 days to urge the bankruptcy judge whether to approve or reject that buyer.

The Hartmarx rescue has grown into a major issue in Illinois and New York, where Hickey Freeman has a factory in Rochester with 800 workers. Representative Louise M. Slaughter, Democrat of New York, said, “This Congress helped our financial institutions in order to protect American jobs, and we intend to ensure that these financial institutions do not turn their backs on Hickey Freeman and its employees.”

Organized labor has threatened to turn up the heat against Wells Fargo if it makes further moves toward liquidation.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B3 of the New York edition with the headline: Wells Fargo Said to Be Squeezing Clothier Hartmarx, Raising Liquidation Fears. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe